Carthys: Gardaí have long way to go

JOHN CARTHY’S family said last night the breadth of recommendations in the Garda Inspectorate’s report showed that the force still had a long way to go to avoid a repeat of Abbeylara.

In a statement, the family expressed scepticism that any real change had taken place within the force since the recommendations of the Barr Tribunal were published seven months ago. “There has been limited political discourse on its implementation and in spite of promises, there has been no proper Dáil debate,” the statement read.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell said he accepted the Inspectorate’s recommendations and had appointed Assistant Commissioner Nacie Rice to oversee their implementation. “I believe that the implementation of the recommendations will very significantly enhance the capacity of the force to respond to such incidents,” he said.

Opposition spokesmen, however, said there remained serious issues to be addressed. Fine Gael’s Jim O’Keeffe said the closure of the garda firing range and the reliance of the force on army facilities meant the recommendation that gardaí receive greater firearms training was compromised.

“Best international practice requires that gardaí using weapons should be able to shoot live ammunition at least three times a year,” Deputy O’Keefe said.

Labour’s Brendan Howlin welcomed the recommendations but said they were “not an end in themselves.”

He added that the relationship between the gardaí and the FBI, which found no faults with the handling of events at Abbeylara, had also to be addressed.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties questioned the need for all gardaí to carry pepper spray and said that any expansion in the use of lethal or less than lethal weapons must be subject to strict controls.